Structural Engineer Reports - All in a Day's Work
๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น - ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
The owner of a 1970's bungalow was renovating and needed expert advice about how to repair cracked and displaced bricks. Our expert Structural Engineer Report found that footing settlements and rotation was the cause. And we recommended a number of procedures to stabilize the footings and some practical and affordable methods to repair the damaged bricks
๐๐๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ -๐ข๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
This house was for sale with some old subsidence and repaired cracks. Our engineer investigation found that there had been some footing settlements due to loose material in the footing bases when the concrete was poured. And to complicate matters, since then seepage had been softening the founding material and causing more settlements. The seepage problem and this had stabilized the footings and now the the house is "sound-as-a-pound".
๐ ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐ - ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐
We found the post galvanizing had been damaged by the concretors during the build, and the post bases had not been "tanked". Cleaning and treating post bases will prolong the life of some posts, but post replacement will be required in the future.
๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ - ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ & ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
This house had serious gaps and cracks. And we found that the house slab had very serious deflections that were progressing. And significant underpinning would be required to stabilize the house before it could be properly repaired.
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ - ๐ช๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ.
We inspected this house for the buyer. And we found that a small section of the slab edge beam concrete had broken away and the edge reinforcement was exposed. Our investigation found that the damage was localized and the slab had no significant deflections in this area. Our expert structural engineer report recommended simple cost-effective grout repairs repairs.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ค ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐
Body Corp: Structural Engineer Report, SUBSIDENCE & WALL CRACKS
๐๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐: ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐๐๐
A brilliant Pre-Purchase Building & Pest Inspection found External Gaps & Possible Subsidence problems & recommended that the buyer should Call Forensic Engineers for an independent expert opinion!
๐๐ช๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐;
- Gaps in window reveals & in door jambs
- A few cracks in brick mortar and a few interior cracks & gaps
- Some variations in the floor levels, that were not serious
๐๐ช๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ช๐๐๐;
There had been some slight initial settlements
- They were not serious
- Subsidence had abated long ago
- The house was now perfectly stable.
๐๐ช๐ง ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐-๐ค๐-๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ง.
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ. And Forensic Engineers are the specialists to turn to.
Wall Cracks, Subsidence, Underpinning, Structural Engineer Reports
HERE ARE SOME RECENT CASES;
SINK HOLES IN TAIGUM, SERIOUS HOUSE SETTLEMENTS IN KURABY & BAD SUBSIDENCE IN MERMAID WATERS
๐ ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐จ.
๐ง๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ - ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
- A broken water pipe had caused a large sink hole to form under a townhouse driveway.
- The residents we are afraid that the driveway could collapse and that other damages might appear!
- Thank goodness that our Expert Investigation found that the slab had not been damaged.
- The damage was localized.
- So we recommended the hole could be filled and the driveway slab re-supported using either Polyurethane Resin Injection, or with hyflow cementitious grout aka "Mud-Jacking".
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ C๐ฎ๐๐ฒ - ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ.
- This older house had serious movements of the perimeter footings and the stumps under the floor.
- Most of Kuraby has highly plastic clay founding soils which can cause footings to seriously lift and settle and often "rotate" (lean).
- The footings had moved so much that the timber floor had become unstable.
- So we recommended vacating the house. And then comprehensive re-stumping & replacement of the perimeter base and footings.
๐ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ - ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ P๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ O๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ.
- The townhouse complex is located on compressible landfill which has been slowly settling for decades.
- We identified recent cracks and gaps and serious variations in the floor levels which would be due to active settlements of the founding materials.
- We considered a number of methods for stabilizing the house footings and the only reliable one would be using conventional underpinning, possibly incorporating some steel screw piers where a water table is encountered.
๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ & ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
Renovating a House with Subsidence and Wall Cracks
๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐พ๐๐ช๐จ๐
It's really important to find the actual cause of the cracks, so that any repairs will last and cracks don't re-appear again and again.
๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ
That's why the owner of this Carindale house called Forensic Engineers to prepare an expert Structural Engineer Report.
Our expert investigation found old and recent subsidence & cracks, and footing settlements as well as footing rotation (leaning). We also identified that the house was built on an old gully that had been filled in and the landfill was subsiding bit-by-bit, year-after-year and this was causing the house cracks.
๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ญ๐ฉ
Our expert Structural Engineer Report found that Stabilizing the footings and permanent wall crack repair would require underpinning of most of the house footings with conventional underpinning.
๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ก๐ฅ
Home renovations are expensive, so if there are any worrying wall or ceiling cracks, it's really important to make sure the foundations are stable by getting an expert independent Engineer Subsidence Report from Forensic Engineers from the get-go
EXPERT ENGINEER WALL CRACK & SUBSIDENCE REPORTS: FORENSIC ENGINEERS ARE HERE TO HELP!
FORENSIC ENGINEERS ARE HERE TO HELP!
Wall, ceiling or floor slab cracks may be simple wear & tear, or they may be a sign of something more serious.
It may Subsidence that has occurred in the past and was not serious and has stopped. Or it may be serious Subsidence that could be getting worse and worse.
And there are also cases where subsidence & cracks have cleverly been covered up, particularly with houses that are renovated & "flipped".
Forensic Engineers are the subsidence experts and are here to help!
Expert advice from Forensic Engineers: Our expert Structural Engineer Reports identify old and new subsidence and cracks and determine if they are serious or wear-and-tear.
And we identify if they are likely to get worse and if any stabilizing or underpinning is necessary.
Peace-of-Mind; Building cracks can develop due to normal wear & tear or from foundation movements and Forensic Engineers are the independent experts to turn to for an expert analysis and for peace-of-mind.
Structural Engineer Reports - Every Day
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER REPORTS - Every Day.
Case #1; a Townhouse in Pimpama
This unit had wall Cracks and we found they had occurred some time ago, had not grown and were not serious. The townhouse is sound-as-a-pound!
Case #2; a house at Paradise Point
A column that had settled and fractured. Very soft sands and a leaking storm drain were the causes and the footing needed underpinning. Problem solved!.
Case #3; a house in Silkstone
The house had some footing movements which were not serious. Thank goodness, because Silkstone is renowned for highly plastic clay soil which can cause serious foundation movements and house damages. Peace-of-mind for the home owner.
Case #4; a unit in Annerley
A unit with some scary ceiling cracks which were were not serious and simple to repair. Patch and paint only required.
Inspection #5 was in Brookwater
An insurance claim where a car had crashed into a retaining wall and fence. Our investigation for the insurer found the the damages to the retaining wall were limited to one post being pushed sideways. Post & footing needed replacement and the wall wales could be re-used. The insurer and the home owner were very happy with our report.
Expert Structural Engineer Reports - Every Day
Sink Holes, Subsidence, Voids under Footings & Slabs
These are common foundation issues we investigate every day.
Be alert.
Act now.
Peace-of-mind
BUILDING & PEST: POSSIBLE SUBSIDENCE, COULD BE SERIOUS.
Coomera House For Sale.
A recent Building & Pest Report was really accurate and found evidence of possible footing movements and recommended that the buyer should get and expert Forensic Engineer report to see if it was serious or not.
In some cases serious subsidence damages can be covered up with filler and paint and only recent movements and wall cracks may be evident.
But in this case, our meticulous Structural Engineer inspection & Report found only some wear & tear, and no significant past or current subsidence.
The buyer was very relieved and incredibly grateful for our professionalism. Happy days!
